Article

2005-01-24 Home Front: WoT

We have ample forewarning. But will we ever act?

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Posted by trailing wife 2005-01-24 7:49:56 AM|| || Front Page|| [11142 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 He's right on target re the biological threat. Any truly intelligent islamofascist has to be thinking of how to genetically engineer viruses that could wipe out millions of infidels in short order.

Posted by lex 2005-01-24 11:13:12 AM|| 2005-01-24 11:13:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 The best hospitals and researchers are in the industrialized world. I think the third world would be the ones to truly suffer if such a pandemic were unleased.

Posted by rjschwarz 2005-01-24 1:27:15 PM|| [http://rjschwarz.com] 2005-01-24 1:27:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 "...it is unfortunately easy for a highly trained terrorist, by genetic manipulation, to create a super-virulent pathogen with a nearly 100% rate of mortality."

Sounds easy, doesn't it! But how many "highly trained terrorists" do applied research in modern genetic weapons labs? And novelist Helprin doesn't even recognize that a pathogen with 100% mortality is useless as a weapon unless it produces a very slowly-developing illness. [Anybody in your neighborhood had ebola recently?] And if these highly-trained bio-chemist-genetic expert terrorists did manage to build such a superbug, it would take less than a day for it to fly on airplanes to their side of the world. So the point would be...?

Mr. Helprin, like the global warming crowd, has seized on a tabloid-grade non-issue that gains him print-space and fame from the science-ignorant MSM and will probably get grant money for researchers and bureaucrats too desperate and lame to tackle real problems.

Posted by Tom 2005-01-24 1:56:59 PM|| 2005-01-24 1:56:59 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Why can't the terrorists simply connect with sympathetic scientists? Ever heard of Dr Khan? Surely eh must have his counterparts in the biological field.

Posted by lex 2005-01-24 2:07:43 PM|| 2005-01-24 2:07:43 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 That's an interesting point, lex. Dr. Kahn found his place in the world by stealing existing enrichment technology and re-selling it. But what labs have this biological weapons technology and how easy is it to get a spy in and the details out? And how much human testing gets done? And how easy is it to limit the damage to the desired population?

No, if I were a terrorist mastermind I wouldn't bother. Radioactive contamination is easier to execute, easier to limit to the infidels, and lasts a long, long time.

Posted by Tom 2005-01-24 2:30:57 PM|| 2005-01-24 2:30:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 what labs have this biological weapons technology

Look North.

how easy is it to get a spy in and the details out?

Don't need spies. The Russian security forces are thick with oil trader middlemen who operate through Dubai and can get you nearly anything you like from the FSU. And the Russian biologists are looking for cash.

Posted by lex 2005-01-24 2:34:58 PM|| 2005-01-24 2:34:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Case in point: check out the, uh, bio for Dr. Vladimir Sabetsky at this venture fund in Moscow:
http://www.ttdc.net/Sections/our.management.htm

"Prior to joining TTDC, Dr. Sabetsky was the Head of the Laboratory for the âRussian Federation State Research Institute of Highly Pure Biopreparationsâ in St. Petersburg, Russia. There Dr. Sabetsky's research focused on novel delivery systems for vaccines, peptides, enzymes, cytokines and other biologically active substances...."
Get it?

Posted by lex 2005-01-24 2:38:31 PM|| 2005-01-24 2:38:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 Frank Herbert wrote that book 20 years ago.

Posted by Dishman 2005-01-24 3:31:54 PM|| 2005-01-24 3:31:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 Read this: http://highway99.blogspot.com/2004_12_01_highway99_archive.html#110438775416021585

Posted by lex 2005-01-24 4:02:19 PM|| 2005-01-24 4:02:19 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 There is a vast difference between activities like making and spreading sarin or anthrax vs. lex's fear that some Islamofanatic might "genetically engineer viruses that could wipe out millions of infidels in short order".

Posted by Tom 2005-01-24 4:16:08 PM|| 2005-01-24 4:16:08 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 The ratios are wrong. Historically, occupation/pacificatiopn.conversion have needed 1::9 ratio (WW2, Malaysia, etc), but we have less than 1::20 these days. Another 50K troops would have been ideal.

Posted by OldSpook 2005-01-24 11:28:28 PM|| 2005-01-24 11:28:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 The ratios are wrong. Historically, occupation/pacificatiopn.conversion have needed 1::9 ratio (WW2, Malaysia, etc), but we have less than 1::20 these days. Another 50K troops would have been ideal.

Posted by OldSpook 2005-01-24 11:28:28 PM|| 2005-01-24 11:28:28 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Off-topic or abusive comments deleted]

Posted by OldSpook 2005-01-24 11:28:28 PM|| 2005-01-24 11:28:28 PM|| Front Page Top

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